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The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is located in Alexandria, VA. The Society has more than 180,000 members and is the global voice of the profession. A president and CEO and a board of directors, comprised of volunteers, govern the society.The mission of SHRM is to serve the professional and advance the profession.

The U.S. is divided into five geographic regions domestically, and two island regions.Each state is led by a State Council Director who sits on the Regional Council.In Florida, the State Council Director is titled “Council President.”The function of the Regional Council is to provide information to the volunteers in the state and to communicate with the SHRM Regional Team.The SHRM Regional Team is made up of three staff members who serve the Southeast Region, of which Florida is part. Dorothy Hill, SPHR, is the director; Shelly Prochaska, SPHR, is the manager, and Terry Finch is the coordinator.They serve the volunteers in the Region.

The HR Florida State Council is comprised of the president and executive board, the standing committee chairs as mentioned above and the chapter presidents. Because of the size of Florida (27 chapters), the state is divided into nine geographic districts. This becomes even more critical since the state has approximately 10,000 SHRM members affiliated with chapters or at-large.The district director oversees the activities of the chapters in their district (usually two to three) and serves as the conduit between the State Council and the local chapters. The state council president appoints committee chairs. The chapter presidents are elected at the local chapter level. HR Florida State Council consists of 27 chapter presidents, nine district directors and the standing committee chairs. The standing committee chairs reflect many chair positions found at the chapter level including:Legislative, Foundation, Certification, Diversity, Education, etc.

What do we do?

Each year SHRM establishes goals relative to membership, certification, etc. These goals are reflected in the Region’s goals. Most state councils reflect the same goals at the state level and some goals carry to the local chapter level. The main task of the Council is to be a resource for the local chapters in their areas of expertise, although there is much overlap with knowledge. The members of the Council are volunteers with full-time paying jobs.

The Council monies come from the annual HR Florida State Conference. The proceeds from the conference pay to operate the council including providing educational opportunities for the chapters. One example is the State Leadership Conference held in January of each year. The conference is usually scheduled on a Saturday. There is no registration fee, and the council provides meals, speakers, and materials geared toward assisting the local chapters with knowledge and skills for running the local chapters. State Council assists its members with funding to attend the SHRM Leadership Conference, the SHRM Diversity Conference and the SHRM Legislative Conference, as well as the SHRM Annual Conference. Again, the monies used to provide this comes from the State Conference.

All of the chapters have volunteer leadership to carry out the goals and objectives of the chapter, district, state, region, and national levels. Chapters are asked to submit a Chapter Achievement Plan to SHRM demonstrating the achievement of goals and objectives. Successful chapters are awarded a merit or superior merit status. Likewise, the State Council completes an Honor State Council Plan, demonstrating successful completion of activities at the state level. SuccessfulState Councils can earn the Honor State Council designation, one that HR Florida State Council has held for several years.

Local chapters affiliate with SHRM for resources and financial assistance. SHRM pays monies to the local chapters based on the number of national members, a form of revenue for the chapters. Some chapters in Florida are 100 percent chapters. This means that all members of the chapter must also belong to SHRM. Other chapters have SHRM members as well as local-only members.

In summary, the HR Florida, Inc., is an entity of volunteers whose main task is to carry out the objectives and initiatives of SHRM through education. The Council acts as a resource for all its members and assists the chapters by providing guidance, general information or speakers at chapter meetings. Communicating with the State Council is also a great opportunity to network with experienced volunteers who are committed to the profession of Human Resources profession and want to share their knowledge with others.